When A Cold Protects You From Something Else

Science News posted an article by Aimee Cunningham on August 29, 2025 entitled: ‘A Cold Today Helps Keep The COVID Away’. That article made me aware of a study in the Journal Of Infectious Diseases on August 11th.

In a group of 1,000 people, various respiratory viruses were tested to see if they could be affected in a person who has a cold in relation to COVID. Anyone having a cold had a lesser attack and fewer symptoms.

Also those who had a cold a month prior would cut the effects by half or could also be warded off by the body’s own defence system. That stands to reason since the body would be on guard to stop any further infection.

But I do not quite understand why this knowledge is considered novel by these researchers. Surely we are all aware that the immune system is there to prevent the ultimate damage.

I believe what they are indicating is they did not know when you are fighting something specific to the respiratory system, another form of a virus that attacks the same system will have to take second place at best or be eliminated totally at the start.

Usually we have to build our system up with proper diet and exercise to be able to resist viruses. Considering most of us eat poorly, our immunity is compromised. We forget that is the best way to protect ourselves.

During COVID, I knew that even though I am an older person, I really do look after my body and so would fare better than someone who is a junk food junkie. So I am not so worried since I rely on that and not some vaccine that promises more than it can deliver.

But learning how the body works is always a good thing. Because even a cold can impact you hard if you do not take care of yourself. That is because you are now weaker. So that has to be considered as well.

Surely they are not advocating for getting a cold to avoid more serious consequences from COVID. It seems there is much more to learn here. Stay tuned to this story.